NBA Champion Makes Shocking Statement Abut Victor Wembanyama

NBA Champion Paul Pierce spoke about Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) on FS1's Undisputed.

On Wednesday evening, the San Antonio Spurs played their first game of the regular season against the Dallas Mavericks (at home).

They lost by a score of 126-119, but all eyes were on 2023 NBA Draft pick Victor Wembanyama.

The 19-year-old put up 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 23 minutes of playing time.

On Thursday morning, 2008 NBA Champion Paul Pierce was on FS1's Undisputed and made a bold statement about Wembanyama (h/t ClutchPoints). 

Pierce: "This guy, in my opinion, he can be the Rookie of The Year and Defensive Player of The Year all in the same year."

"I was thoroughly impressed... This guy, in my opinion, he can be the Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year all in the same year... He has that type of potential."

Paul Pierce on Victor Wembanyama's debut with the Spurs.pic.twitter.com/o9php6oESk

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 26, 2023

Pierce is one of the greatest players of all time and was a ten-time NBA All-Star (in addition to being a first-ballot Hall of Famer). 

Therefore, his opinion is noteworthy about Wembanyama. 

YESSIR, @wemby 💪 pic.twitter.com/cA5XfZErP8

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 26, 2023

The Spurs are coming off a year where they were the 15th seed in the Western Conference with a 22-60 record, and they missed the NBA playoffs for the fourth straight year. 

However, Wembanyama is with a franchise that has legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and has won five NBA Championships since the 1999 season. 

Victor Wembanyama’s debut:

🏀 2.99M viewers

🏀 Most-watched Mavs/Spurs reg. season game on ESPN ever (non-Xmas)

🏀NBA League Pass viewership in France was up +220% vs. last year's regular season avg

🏀214M video views: most of any player on NBA social since start of preseason pic.twitter.com/tKHSFtLiyQ

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 26, 2023

As for Pierce, he played 19 total seasons in the league for the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers. 

His career averages were 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 44.5% from the field and 36.8% from the three-point range in 1,343 regular season games (he also appeared in 170 NBA playoff games).